There has been for many years a great conflict between scientists of a certain order and Christians, who are old-fashioned enough to believe the Bible. To a large extent it is a conflict between Evolutionists and Fundamentalists. There is and can be no conflict, however, between TRUE science and the Bible, for God is the Author of them both. He is the Creator, seen in all the multitudinous phenomena of nature; and the Revealer, seen in the unfolding of Himself in Christ in the Scriptures. The one revelation of God’s almighty power and Godhead in creation appeals to the senses, and its phenomena can be made the subject of intelligent observation. The other revelation is moral and spiritual in its teaching and effect.
As to the conflict between science and the Bible, the Scriptures put an unerring finger on where the difficulty lies. We read, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:1414But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)). The fact is the mind of unregenerate men is incapable of rightly under-standing the Word of God. This is not flattering to man's culture and intellect. The moral aspect of all this is clearly seen in the bias of men's minds.
When Darwin brought out his theory of evolution, it was hailed with delight by men, who wished to see the Bible discredited. It was received with open arms by unconverted professors of the Christian religion. It became popular to doubt the account of creation given in Gen. 1, and to describe it as mythical, folklore and the like. A theologian was considered abreast of the times when he embraced the unproved theories of evolution.
I remember well the despair I felt as a young man when Darwin's theory first swept the country, as if it would carry all before it. But one has lived long enough to see the highest scientists acknowledging that evolution in all its phases is but a theory unproved, even in its initial stages. It is a pretty rotten foundation to build on for eternity.
I remember being present on board ship in the Indian Ocean one evening when a discussion on the truth of Christianity was propounded. It was a moving sight under the strong arc light of the upper deck, on a warm autumn evening, to see Mohammedans, Parsees, Hindus, British, Europeans of all types, gathered to hear a missionary expound the tenets of Christianity. Alas! it was pitiable. The so-called missionary was a Modernist, and had no clear message for the poor heathen he labored among. He spoke of men being descended from apes, as if it were an established fact. I had to tell him that scientists of the highest order had testified that evolution was a theory, an unproved guess; that it was only ignorant scientists, and third-rate theologians, who did not keep abreast of the times, who made such a statement as he had made.
The late Oswald Chambers made a very pertinent remark. " If the Bible agreed with modern science, it would soon be out of date, because in the very nature of things modern science is bound to change." The late Professor Thomas H. Huxley said, "The great and frequent tragedy of science is a beautiful hypothesis killed by an ugly fact." Never were there truer or more devastating statements.
Science is always changing for the simple reason that a large proportion of so-called science is not really science, but merely theory unsupported by fact. It was so even in ancient times, for the Apostle Paul's advice to young Timothy in his day was, "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so-called" (1 Tim. 6:2020O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: (1 Timothy 6:20)). What shattering expressions—" Profane and Vain Babblings " and " Science Falsely So-called "!
Science, if it be really science, cannot change, for really ascertained knowledge must remain knowledge. One thing is certain. God is the Author alike of true science and the Bible. Therefore there can be no contradiction between them.
But does the Bible teach science? The answer is obvious. The Bible does not set out to teach science. It is the revelation of God in Christ, a Book with an authoritative message to the souls of men, a Book with a spiritual testimony of moral import, above all conveying the message of redeeming grace to a world of sinners. Yet at the same time anything that refers to science in the Bible is true. We shall see how the Bible sets forth more than one scientific fact centuries before these were discovered by scientists. One is amazed to see here and there the Bible forestalling by long centuries modern discoveries.
The contrast between the ancient uninspired writings and the Bible is very marked. For instance according to Greek and Roman philosophies, the heavens formed a solid vault over the earth. Aristotle, who flourished B.C. 384-322, described the heavens as " a sphere studded with stars." The little girl, who imagined the stars to be gimlet holes on the floor of heaven through which the glory of heaven shone, was not far apart from the learned Aristotle in her idea.
Gen. 1, that incomparable description of the original creation, and the reconstruction of the earth following on a supervening chaotic condition, describes the heavens by the word firmament. This is the word employed by the translators of the original Hebrew word. The original word is inspired, the translation, correct though it may be, is not. But when we examine this particular Hebrew word we find it would be correctly translated as expanse. There could not be a better word to describe the illimitable space we know as the heavens. It was the great Lord Salisbury, no mean scientist, who described the word ether as a convenient word for hiding our ignorance. Who then guided the hand of Moses when he wrote the opening verses of Gen. 1? Surely it was Divine guidance and nothing less.
The ancient Egyptians taught that the earth was formed by the motion of air and the upward course of flame. But where did the air come from, and who gave to the flame its upward tendency? How was it that Moses, brought up in the wisdom and learning of the Egyptians, should have described the real origin of the universe in the simple and sublime words of Scripture, " In the beginning God CREATED the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:11In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)).
The Hindoos taught that the earth was flat and triangular and composed of seven stories. This in turn was sustained on the heads of elephants, and the movements of these unwieldy animals produced earthquakes. In contrast how was it that Job, writing over 3,000 years ago, uttered this profound truth, "He... hangeth the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:77He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. (Job 26:7)). How did Job know this? What could he know of the earth being suspended in space? What could he know of the law of gravitation? In that simple statement he put on record a scientific fact utterly unknown in the writings of the Egyptians, Hindoos and the like. How was it? He was inspired.
The early Church, the dispenser in those days of what scientific knowledge there was, taught that the earth was flat, that it was the center of the universe, and that the sun was subservient to it. Lactantius wrote, "The rotundity of the earth is a theory, which no one is ignorant enough to believe."
The astronomer Galileo (1564-1642) was threatened by the Romish Church with excommunication, if he continued to assert that the earth revolved round the sun. It was considered an insult to put the earth in a place subservient to the sun.
How is it that the truth of the rotundity of the earth lay enshrined in the Scriptures over fifteen centuries before Galileo was born. Yet so it is. We read, " In that night there shall be two men in one bed: the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together: the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left" (Luke 17:34-3634I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (Luke 17:34‑36)).
Here are two men in bed, night-time; two women grinding corn, breakfast-time; two men working in the field, day-time. How can one event find those it affects at one and the same time at different hours out of the twenty-four. Extend this statement, and the one event would find those it affects during every hour and minute of the twenty-four hours, forming a complete day and night. That could only be if the earth were round, and performed its diurnal motion of turning round on its axis in relation to the sun once in twenty-four hours. The Bible is an amazing Book, and leaves us speechless with astonishment. Inspiration is clearly marked upon it. It is the Word of God.
The late Lord Kelvin, the renowned scientist and a humble believer on the Savior, made a profound impression on the scientific world when he announced a great discovery, viz.: that there is never precipitation of rain unless caused by electrical discharge; in other words that an electrical charge, whether very marked in a thunderstorm, or in such a small degree that it is not noticeable, produces rain.
An interesting incident occurred in this direction a few years ago. A staff officer in the army, a brother-in-law of the writer, was lecturing on electricity to his brother officers. He referred to this interesting discovery, and remarked that he had a very ancient volume in his possession, parts of it dating back 3,000 years that antedated this discovery. His statement startled his audience not a little. At the close of the lecture a crowd gathered round him, asking for proof of this extraordinary statement.
He drew from underneath his tunic a pocket Bible, and read to his astonished questioners, "Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; to cause it to rain on the earth " (Job 38:25,2625Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; 26To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; (Job 38:25‑26)); " When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder" (Job 28:2626When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: (Job 28:26)); " He causeth the vapors to ascend [evaporation, or forming of clouds] from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings for the rain" (Psa. 135:77He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. (Psalm 135:7)); "He maketh lightnings with rain" (Jer. 10:13;51:1613When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. (Jeremiah 10:13)
16When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. (Jeremiah 51:16)). His audience was much impressed. They might well be so.
It would be well if the reader were so impressed by these undeniable facts of the Scriptures, that he sat down to read the Word of God, and let it instruct him in the true ways of peace. Some distinguished scientists have had this happy experience. Copernicus, the founder of our modern system of thought concerning the universe, had these striking words engraved on his tombstone, "Not that grace which Paul received crave I; not that favor with which Thou didst pardon Peter: that which Thou didst grant the malefactor, that alone I beg." Linnaeus, the great naturalist, when he discovered the formation of leaves, exclaimed in transports that he had traced "the very footsteps of God." When he beheld a mountain side in all the golden glory of gorse in full bloom, he fell on his knees and worshipped the Creator. Liebig, the greatest of chemists, confessed in his writings that "the great value and dignity of natural science consists in the fact that it is a stepping stone to true Christianity." Robert Mayer, discoverer of the unity of forces, declared to an audience of physicists he was addressing, " From the bottom of my heart I proclaim that a genuine philosophy cannot possibly be anything else than a prelude to the Christian religion." Such men as Kepler, the great Sir Isaac Newton, Herschell, the great astronomer, Faraday, the great electrician, who conducted Bible readings, and Lord Kelvin were all devout Christian men.